Why is The Pill allowed?

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ellen42

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I know that it is morally acceptable for people to use birth control when the intent is not for birth control, but that contraception is a side effect. However, I cannot wrap my head around why that’s morally okay.

If I take the pill, I know that it can render my uterus an inhospitable place for a fertilized egg, thus potentially causing an abortion. If I go into this with that intent, I understand the moral implications. However, if I go into this knowing that it might, and probably will, happen, but I’m doing it for other medical reasons – how is that somehow not still an abortion?

Abortion is wrong. Period. In all cases. Full stop.

Except for this? I don’t get it.

It’s like saying “If you fire this gun, you will likely kill somebody”. If you then fire the gun because it might kill somebody, then it’s obviously a sin. However, if you fire the gun because you liked the smell of gunpowder, but didn’t care where the bullet went, then it’s okay because the bullet was just a side effect of your intention.
 
Birth control does not cause aborition, it prevents fertilization.
 
J_Peterson said:
Which party? Who’s claiming that it causes abortions? It’s a dangerous piece of misinformation.
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Catholic understanding of human life is that it begins at conception, so if the pill causes fertilized eggs not to attach to the uterine wall (or whatever the precise effect is), it is abortion.
 
ellen42 said:
I know that it is morally acceptable for people to use birth control when the intent is not for birth control, but that contraception is a side effect. However, I cannot wrap my head around why that’s morally okay.
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A person who uses hormonal therapy as a treatment for a diagnosed medical disorder does no wrong.

A medication, in and of itself, is morally neutral. It could be used to treat illness or to inflict harm.

The same is true of any medication. Narcotics are used licitly to relieve pain. They are also used illicitly to achieve altered psychotic states. The difference is in the intent.
 
The Pill prevents ovulation. Without ovulation, there is no egg to be fertilized.
 
SonCatcher said:
A person who uses hormonal therapy as a treatment for a diagnosed medical disorder does no wrong.

A medication, in and of itself, is morally neutral. It could be used to treat illness or to inflict harm.

The same is true of any medication. Narcotics are used licitly to relieve pain. They are also used illicitly to achieve altered psychotic states. The difference is in the intent.
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But if you know - for a fact - that what you’re doing can recklessly cause an abortion, how is that not killing a fertilized egg?

When used properly, narcotics do not have a negative effect on the patient or those around them. It is only when they are improperly used that sin may result. When used properly, birth control pills still have the same abortifacent effects as they do when used for contraception.
 
ellen42 said:
You’re new here, aren’t you?
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Haha, yes I am. Seriously though, I’ve never heard anybody claim that the pill causes abortions. Well, actually I’ve heard people claim that about the morning after pill which is also false.

It’s fine to be against the pill but there is no need to make stuff up to make it scarier than it is. If this lie causes just one woman to not take the pill for medical reasons, the person who told the lie is guilty of a greater sin than taking the pill (in my opinoin).
 
J_Peterson said:
Haha, yes I am. Seriously though, I’ve never heard anybody claim that the pill causes abortions. Well, actually I’ve heard people claim that about the morning after pill which is also false.

It’s fine to be against the pill but there is no need to make stuff up to make it scarier than it is. If this lie causes just one woman to not take the pill for medical reasons, the person who told the lie is guilty of a greater sin than taking the pill (in my opinoin).
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Well, if you hang around here, you’ll hear that a lot.
 
J_Peterson said:
Birth control does not cause aborition, it prevents fertilization.
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From the Loestrin’s website " Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include 1
changes in the cervical mucus (which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood of implantation)."

loestrin24.com/loestrin/pdf/pi_loestrin24_fe.pdf#page=1

The primary method (prevention of implantation is considered a secondary meathod) of the original, estrogen Pill was to prevent ovulation (although you could still have breakthrough ovulation, and become pregant). As the “formula” for birth control pills has been altered over the years to lessen risks of various side effects, AND prevent breakthrough ovulation from turning into pregnancies, the result has been higher progesterone pills. These work primarily through altering the lining of the endometrium within the uterus so that although ovulation and fertilization occur, implantation will fail.

Like any mediation, you get pamphlets within the box/packet it’s in. All of these which I have ever seen included information about this mechanism by which the hormones work.
This was also considered common knowledge in my reproductive classes.
 
all hormonal contraceptives can act as abortifacients. get your facts straight, j.

primarily, they work by preventing ovulation. the backup is usually to make the uterus inhospitable to the fertilized egg (new human), should breakthrough ovulation occur.

I just read an article claiming that 14% of women use birth control for medical reasons - but I have a hunch that “not wanting a frequent/heavy period” counts as a medical reason, just like abortion exceptions for the health of the mother include “not wanting a baby” (emotional health is defined so broadly as to encompass everything).

god knows what is in someone’s heart. if a woman chooses to take a hormonal contraceptive to help (for example) her acne because of the side effect of birth control, using it as a “get out of jail free” card, that’s different from taking it if it’s the only accepted drug to treat her condition. in the second case the drug would be said to cause a miscarriage - an abortion is an intentional miscarriage. both pcos, endometriosis, and heavy/painful periods have other forms of treatment, but many doctors will just push the pill without even mentioning other options.

the principle is called double effect.

does this help at all?
 
Aggies08 said:
From the Loestrin’s website " Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include 1
changes in the cervical mucus (which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood of implantation)."

loestrin24.com/loestrin/pdf/pi_loestrin24_fe.pdf#page=1

The primary method (prevention of implantation is considered a secondary meathod) of the original, estrogen Pill was to prevent ovulation (although you could still have breakthrough ovulation, and become pregant). As the “formula” for birth control pills has been altered over the years to lessen risks of various side effects, AND prevent breakthrough ovulation from turning into pregnancies, the result has been higher progesterone pills. These work primarily through altering the lining of the endometrium within the uterus so that although ovulation and fertilization occur, implantation will fail.

Like any mediation, you get pamphlets within the box/packet it’s in. All of these which I have ever seen included information about this mechanism by which the hormones work.
This was also considered common knowledge in my reproductive classes.
Click to expand...
I never heard that before. I stand corrected.
 
Baelor said:
Catholic understanding of human life is that it begins at conception, so if the pill causes fertilized eggs not to attach to the uterine wall (or whatever the precise effect is), it is abortion.
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That only pertains to the morning after pill which I believe can be rightfully ministered after a rape. But I am not sure. Most contreception however prevents an egg from being fertilized so no conception takes place.

Peace,

David
 
Corvus_Corax said:
The Pill prevents ovulation. Without ovulation, there is no egg to be fertilized.
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the pill does not prevent ovulation but does surpress the lining of the uterus from forming so that when there is fertilization the new human being cannot implant and grow thus it is an abortion.
 
insideitall said:
all hormonal contraceptives can act as abortifacients. get your facts straight, j.

primarily, they work by preventing ovulation. the backup is usually to make the uterus inhospitable to the fertilized egg (new human), should breakthrough ovulation occur.

I just read an article claiming that 14% of women use birth control for medical reasons - but I have a hunch that “not wanting a frequent/heavy period” counts as a medical reason, just like abortion exceptions for the health of the mother include “not wanting a baby” (emotional health is defined so broadly as to encompass everything).

god knows what is in someone’s heart. if a woman chooses to take a hormonal contraceptive to help (for example) her acne because of the side effect of birth control, using it as a “get out of jail free” card, that’s different from taking it if it’s the only accepted drug to treat her condition. in the second case the drug would be said to cause a miscarriage - an abortion is an intentional miscarriage. both pcos, endometriosis, and heavy/painful periods have other forms of treatment, but many doctors will just push the pill without even mentioning other options.

the principle is called double effect.

does this help at all?
Click to expand...
Not at all.

The moral “loophole” is still there, even if you argue that most people are using it as a loophole.

As an informed Catholic who knows that the birth control pill is an abortifacient, how can you morally take the pill (while being sexually active) even if it is truly for a legitimate medical reason? That same risk of an abortion is there whether the intent is good or not. That abortion is still killing a human life.
 
ellen42 said:
But if you know - for a fact - that what you’re doing can recklessly cause an abortion, how is that not killing a fertilized egg?
Click to expand...
That could not be known for a fact since different bodies react somewhat differently to the hormones. Indeed, fertilization might occur and implantation prevented. It also may be that ovulation is entirely prevented.
When used properly, narcotics do not have a negative effect on the patient or those around them. It is only when they are improperly used that sin may result. When used properly, birth control pills still have the same abortifacent effects as they do when used for contraception.
Click to expand...
Properly used, narcotics will eventually kill the patient through an overdose if he is chronically on them. The Church allows them anyway since (a) there is no alternative pain reliever, (b) the exact fatal dose is unknown (varies by person), and (c) death is unintentional.
 
ellen42 said:
I know that it is morally acceptable for people to use birth control when the intent is not for birth control, but that contraception is a side effect. However, I cannot wrap my head around why that’s morally okay.

If I take the pill, I know that it can render my uterus an inhospitable place for a fertilized egg, thus potentially causing an abortion. If I go into this with that intent, I understand the moral implications. However, if I go into this knowing that it might, and probably will, happen, but I’m doing it for other medical reasons – how is that somehow not still an abortion?
Click to expand...
Some suspect the pill has this effect, perhaps regularly; I have heard others suggest that if ovulation and fertilization occur, the pregnancy hormones take over and allow implantation. It’s still under debate.

There is no obligation by the Church to abstain from normal sexual relation while using the pill for theraputic purposes *, but it is an option to practice abstinence on the days you would normally be fertile, like in NFP, or for the entire duration you are on the pill. There are also other options besides the pill to treat problems provided by the Pope Paul VI, I’ve heard.

The Church stresses intent a lot. Another example they use is in the case of cancer, where chemotherapy may result in the unwanted, unintended death of the child, but may be urgent to stop the advance of the cancer.*
 
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